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The latest Census Bureau statistics available online show that more than one-third of Americans do not have savings or interest-earning accounts. According to the Department of Commerce, Americans saved about 2% of their disposable incomes last year, compared with 8% in the early 1990s.

Others charge the plan ignores the high cost of medications for some people, a criticism that also extends to the rest of the Medicare act, which is more widely known for its changes to senior benefits. Medicare should not be pitted against private plans, opponents say. Kerry voted against the act twice in procedural votes.

Other aspects of the act will give seniors prescription drug coverage, expand preventive care benefits, and will give seniors the option of buying into the federal health plan.

An August survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health found that nearly half (47%) of seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare say they have an unfavorable impression of the new Medicare law.

More than half (53%) say the new discount cards “aren’t worth the trouble” and are “too confusing to use.”

Most people on Medicare (62%), according to the survey, haven’t decided if they will enroll in the new drug plan in 2006, and eight in 10 (79%) favor changing the law to allow prescription drug sales from Canada, a position that Kerry supports.

Myrna Allen, RN, MSN, associate executive director of ANA\ California and a Republican, says the details may not be perfect, but she credits the Bush administration with a willingness to tackle the problem.

In keeping with his approach, Bush’s proposals for health care involve tax credits to buy into the insurance market. The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation says the main components of Bush’s proposals will insure an additional 1.3 million people and cost about $70 billion over 10 years.

As part of a five-year plan, the president also proposes to open or expand 1,200 community health centers to serve an additional 6.1 million people, according to his campaign.

Kerry proposes a more comprehensive health care coverage plan aimed at insuring an additional 26.7 million people.

The plan’s cost — the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates about $653 billion over 10 years — would be paid for by rolling back Bush tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 a year.

A Kerry administration would pick up the full cost of insuring children on Medicaid in exchange for states expanding their Medicaid coverage of families. He has proposed reimbursing employers and insurers for three-quarters of catastrophic health care costs above $50,000, but only if the savings are passed on to employees.

To help small businesses, Kerry proposes refundable tax credits for up to 50% of the cost of coverage; a “premium rebate” pool for certain high-cost health cases would help reduce costs for everyone, his campaign says.

He would provide assistance to those whose health insurance premium costs exceed 6% of income, and open up the federal health insurance plan to everyone.

Medical malpractice

The two candidates also differ on medical malpractice, as well as caps on noneconomic awards in medical malpractice lawsuits.

The Bush administration claims that capping noneconomic compensation at $250,000 will lower soaring malpractice premiums. In 2001, the administration supported a House-led Patients’ Bill of Rights that capped such awards and limited malpractice suits.

That same year, Kerry supported a competing Senate-led Patients’ Bill of Rights that did not cap awards. The two bills died when both houses of Congress could not settle their differences.

Kerry proposes to control malpractice premiums by punishing lawyers who file frivolous malpractice suits and having specialists review the merit of cases before they are allowed to go forward. He also favors “whistleblower” protections for health care workers who report errors or problems, which he has supported in past legislation.